How Red Bull Racing Bought Ford's F1 Failure for $1 and went on to Win 6 Titles

The late legendary NASCAR racer and team owner Dale Earnhardt Sr. had famously said, “Second place is just the first place loser”. Sebastian Vettel, who on November 26 won his third consecutive Formula 1 world championship with Red Bull Racing (RBR), thinks along the same lines: “When you win, everything is crazy. When you lose, you have time for yourself, no one is interested”, he says.

Everyone is certainly interested in Vettel and Red Bull Racing, which also won its third constructors’ title in a row this season. What makes their accomplishments even more astonishing is the fact that the RBR team was formed in 2005 and its first win came in the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix.

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Formula 1: Brazilian Grand Prix Race Report

It’s not the first time that the Formula 1 title has gone down to the wire. Far from it, since any fan of the sport can certainly recall some epic finales.

In 2008, for example, when Ferrari’s Felipe Massa crossed the finish line, he had won not only the Brazilian Grand Prix but also the world championship as McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton was in sixth place. The latter, though, passed Timo Glock in the second-to-last corner and moved up to fifth, clinching the title by a single point and leaving Massa second.

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Formula 1: U.S. Grand Prix Race Report

It’s true that, despite having half a century of history behind it, Formula 1 has never really caught on with motorsport fans in the United States.

Nevertheless, last week it returned to the Land of the Free after a seven-year hiatus. The last time an F1 GP was staged on American soil it was in Indianapolis; now, it took place at a brand-new track in Austin, Texas.

With the two title contenders, Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, being close in the drivers’ standings, F1’s return to the States could very well determine the outcome of the championship.

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Formula 1: Indian Grand Prix Race Report

You lose some, you win some. Even McLaren with its Honda-powered MP4/4 driven by Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, who completely dominated the 1988 season, failed to win all 16 races.

After 11 straight wins, it lost to Ferrari. It then continued its streak, claiming a startling 15 wins out of 16 starts but by a strange twist of fate, the one it lost was on Scuderia’s home ground and, at the same time, the first Italian GP after Enzo Ferrari’s death…

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Formula 1: Korean Grand Prix Race Report

Unlike past seasons, with four races still to go, predicting this year’s Formula 1 champion is, practically, impossible. That’s because consistency and outright performance are two variables that change greatly from one Grand Prix to another, not least because of their tires’ behavior.

The Korean GP that took place on Suday was yet another race that had most teams and their drivers struggling with tire performance.

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Formula 1: 2012 Japanese Grand Prix Race Report

This year, up until now, Fernando Alonso scored three wins in 14 races and apart from a single retirement in Belgium, he always finished with points. That’s the reason why, despite his Ferrari not being the fastest car on the grid, the two-time Formula 1 world champion was leading the 2012 driver’s championship.

At the Japanese Grand Prix that took place on Sunday morning at the Suzuka circuit, the Spaniard didn’t even make it past the first corner, retiring for the second time this season.

Right after the red lights went out signaling the start of the race, his Ferrari came in contact with Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus and spun at turn one.

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Formula 1: Italian Grand Prix Report

The Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix, which takes place at the Monza circuit, is an important event for the tifosi; that is, Scuderia Ferrari fans, who want to see the red cars win on their home ground.

This year, two Ferrari-powered cars were on the podium. Sadly for the Italians, only one of them was a Ferrari: that of Fernando Alonso, and it managed only third place.

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Red Bull Heir Accused of Killing a Police Officer With His Ferrari FF and Running Away

Most people know Red Bull’s owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, the Austrian entrepreneur who has made a fortune out of the energy drink and among other things, owns not one, but two Formula 1 teams and a couple of soccer clubs.

What is not so widely known is that Mateschitz had a partner in establishing his empire. His name was Chaleo Yoovidhaya and up to his demise earlier this year at the age of 80, had built up a sizeable fortune of around US$5.4 billion, which put him on the 205th place in Forbe's list of the world's billionaires.

On September 3, Bangkok police announced that they had arrested Yoovidhaya’s grandson, Vorayuth Voocidhaya, for allegedly being involved in a hit-and-run accident that resulted in a police officer’s death.

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Red Bull Poised to Become the New Promoter of the World Rally Championship

According to a recent report from Autosport, indications suggest that the ever-wealthy race enthusiasts at Red Bull will be taking over the sponsorship of the World Rally Championship (WRC) in the very near future.

When termination of the sponsorship contract by former promoters North One Sport occurred, FIA, the WRC 's governing body, began a frantic search for a new main sponsor for the championship series.

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Renault Alpine A110-50's Run at the Monaco GP, COO Says there's a 50% Chance to Revive the Brand

Aside from Mark Webber's stunning win, Renault had another reason to celebrate in Monaco this past weekend as the French firm introduced the new Alpine A110-50 Concept to mark the 50th anniversary of its legendary mid-engined sports car.

The presentation took place on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix, with Renault's Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares wearing his race suit to drive the 400-horsepower, mid-engined racer around the Circuit de Monaco.

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Renault Twingo RS gets the 'All-Show, No Go' Red Bull Racing RB7 Treatment

Following on the heels of the Clio RS RB7 and Megane F1 specials, Renault has now applied the Red Bull Racing RB7 styling treatment on the smaller Twingo RenaultSport (RS) model as part of the celebrations for the 2011 Formula 1 Constructors’ world title. Read more »

Superstars: Five Legendary Formula 1 Cars and the Names They Inspired

Last week we drew inspiration from the platypus-style nosecones that are featured on almost every Formula 1 team’s car this year. We noted that there seems to be a direct correlation between ridiculous nicknames and hideously ugly chassis and that the more repulsive a car is, the more bizarre its name becomes.

Nicknames, however, are not only reserved for automobiles that offend us, they are also applied to a handful of iconic vehicles that dominated, dazzled and awed us with their speed and beauty. Just like some famous athletes, movie stars or glamorous supermodels, the following five cars are known by their nicknames alone.

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Formula 1: 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix Race Results

As the saying goes, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Likewise, you can’t predict the outcome of a race until the chequered flag drops.

Judging both from the first grand prix of the year, as well as Saturday’s qualifying practice at Sepang, the prime contenders for the top spot were the two McLarens, followed by Michal Schumacher in his Mercedes and, perhaps, Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus.

Of course, no one in his right mind would not count Red Bull Racing's duo – or bet a dime on Ferrari winning the race. Well, if anyone had that inspiration, he must have quite a lot of cash right now, because Fernando Alonso won the 2012 Malaysian Formula 1 grand prix.

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Formula 1: Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying Results

Immediately after the 2012 season opener in Australia, the Formula 1 circus moved to Malaysia for the second race of the year.

In contrast to Albert Park, which uses public roads that are closed in order for the Grand Prix to take place and is a relatively easy track, the Sepang Circuit features an unusual layout, with a tight hairpin leading from the very long back straight to the pits.

In Australia, we got a first taste of each team’s pace during tge race. Apparently, the Malaysian GP qualifying session proved that the picture it painted was an accurate one.

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Formula 1: Australian GP Race Results

Every year FIA, the sport’s governing body, changes Formula 1’s technical regulations with the purpose of leveling out the playing field. This forces designers to work within a very strict set of parameters that make gaining an advantage a great challenge.

Despite FIA’s efforts to increase competition even more, F1 is far from becoming something akin to a one-make series. Some teams always make a better job than others do, but we have to wait until each year’s first race before drawing any conclusions.

At the 2012 Australian Grand Prix, the Saturday qualifying session showed us certain things like that the McLaren is currently the fastest car out there, while Red Bull Racing seems to have lost some of its pace due to the rule changes that affected the design of the RB8.

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Formula 1: Australian GP Qualifying Results

At the inaugural race of every Formula 1 season you never really know where each team stands in terms of performance. Sure, there are the favorites, the also-runs, the back markers and oftentimes, the wild cards.

Well, the qualifying race of the Australian Grand Prix that kicked off this year's F1 season certainly had all of the above. But not necessarily in the way most seasoned F1 fans might have expected.

Lewis Hamilton claimed the 20th pole position of his career and Jenson Button lined up right beside him, making it an all-McLaren front row. Not too surprising, as despite the fact that Sebastian Vettel took most pole positions last year, the McLarens had proved to be very fast during testing.

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Formula 1: Carscoop’s Preview of the 2012 Season

When the red lights go out at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday (17:00 local time, 06:00 GMT), it will not only mark the start of the 28th Australian Grand Prix but of the 2012 Formula 1 season as well.

It will also mark the first time in the 62-year history of the sport that six world champions line up on the same grid: Michael Schumacher (7 titles), Fernando Alonso (2 titles), Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen (1 title each) and, of course, the reigning champion, Sebastian Vettel, who also won the 2010 world title.

In Formula 1, things can change dramatically from one year to another. And FIA is certainly trying hard to make any advantage held by a single team evaporate: thus it made the standard ECUs even simpler, compelled all teams to use “periscope”-style exhausts eliminating their aerodynamic effect on the diffuser, made changes to the front wing’s minimal strength and height and outlawed ride-height suspension systems.

Despite all these changes, some of which were clearly aimed at Red Bull (and made most cars sport an ugly face), the 25-year old German and the all-conquering these past two seasons RBR team are starting out as the ones to beat.

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Renault Launches Pricey Clio R.S. Red Bull Racing RB7 Edition and Special Mégane R.S F1 Show Cars

Only a few days before this year's Formula 1 season kicks off with the inaugural Australian GP in Melbourne on Sunday, Renault released a special edition version of its sporty Clio R.S. 200 hatch to celebrate its F1 Constructors’ title with Red Bull Racing in 2011.

The Clio R.S. Red Bull Racing RB7 is a limited production model that will be marketed in five countries: France, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria.

Renault will begin accepting orders in these markets on March 14, with the car’s price in France set at €27,900 (US$36,660), or a little over €4,000 on top of the price of the regular Clio R.S. 200.

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